What has surprised you most about motherhood?
“Oh, man. It doesn’t surprise me that I have less time for me, but I guess it’s a surprise when it becomes an actual reality, like getting ready in the morning. I try to do it as fast as I possibly can, and it still doesn’t feel fast enough.
I think maybe the biggest surprise is how much joy it has brought me—I always figured that I would be a mom, but I think I was hesitant because I really am content in my life and the life that I’ve built with my husband. Now, I can look back at this decision that we’ve made and see the extra joy that it’s brought us that I assumed would happen, but I didn’t know just how much it would be. Every day he wakes up so happy and in such a good mood. It’s just kind of precious to witness, and it puts me in a good mood right off the bat, so that’s really special.”
Has your hair or skin changed post-pregnancy at all?
“My skin did not change post-pregnancy. At the very beginning, when I got pregnant, I had a lot of breakouts that I had just never had before, so that was interesting, but by the end of the first trimester, it kind of went away.
But my hair is insanely long, and it’s thicker than it ever has been. I know a lot of people say that they have hair loss postpartum, but I’m not seeing that so far, and I’m almost in month three. If anything, it’s gotten longer and thicker, which is kind of strange, maybe from all the pre-natals, but it’s maybe almost too long, like I need to actually cut it. It’s getting too easy for him to grab on and pull.
My hair texture hasn’t really changed, which I’m thankful for. I have kind of naturally wavy hair. I wouldn’t have been bummed if it got curlier—I would’ve been actually kind of stoked about that—I was more concerned it would go straight.”
Are there any hair or skin-care products you’re currently loving?
“I started trying these facial masks ($19) that I like by Biodance. They’re really nice. I like the texture of the actual mask itself—it’s kind of rubbery. I use my girlfriend’s skin-care line called Dewyer. It’s really nice and really simple. I like the exfoliating scrub ($35) and moisturizer ($35). I really like Tower 28. They have a really nice cream ($24) that I put on in the morning pre-makeup. It’s fantastic and really hydrating.
I’m not a super specific hair girl where I need to have my exact products—I kind of hop around. At the moment, I’m using Kristin Ess, which I really love. She has a great shampoo and conditioner ($24) I’ve used for a while. I really like the smell of it and the texture—it’s very hydrating.
I don’t always condition my hair—I find that sometimes it takes some of the weight out of my hair. So sometimes I’ll just shampoo it and then towel dry it. I don’t even brush it out because I don’t really get tangles, and it keeps my waves a bit better when I’m diffusing it after the shower.
I’m not really a hair mask girl, especially because I don’t really color my hair. My hair, at this point, is now just its natural color. I kind of stopped dying it when the pandemic hit, and I haven’t gone back since, except maybe a couple of blonde highlights in the front.
I’m a big fan of using a sea salt spray ($16)—I use one by SunBum that I really like. It has a really nice smell, and it’s the perfect amount of sea salt to give you that beachy texture. I use a blow dry mist ($15) as well by Kristin Ess.
Those are kind of my go-to staples. Then, I’ll use a t3 curling iron ($150-$250) sometimes to kind of accentuate little parts in front. I usually put in like six, seven curls, and then I’m kind of good to go.”
You did a home birth. Do you have any advice for moms who are interested in doing that?
“I think my greatest advice to give would be to just find your birth team—find your midwife, find your doula. Read as many books as you can possibly engage with. I know it’s overwhelming. I think Spiritual Midwifery ($23) is a great one to start with. Trying to set up some kind of meditation practice was really helpful for me, and just putting my mind to a place where I could kind of zone out and just think about the pregnancy and put good energy and thoughts toward the birth.
Talk it through with your partner. I was really open about my concerns and the things that I was nervous or excited or worried about with my husband, and that really helped because he had his own concerns as well, and he was able to voice those to our midwife. We got a lot of peace in getting answers from them that really set our worries aside.
I think home birth is such a mental thing. I think birth, in general, is such a mental event, and I think that doing a home birth kind of notches that up a couple of levels only because you are choosing to not have any type of medical intervention, so you’re kind of relying just on your space and the people that you’re surrounding yourself with.
At the end of the day, anybody is capable of a home birth. I think any mom can do it. It’s not like some superpower that I have by any means. It’s just a matter of mentally preparing yourself for that journey and mentally preparing yourself that you are saying no to these types of interventions, you are saying no to an epidural, and you are saying no to being monitored 24/7, and if you’re okay with that, then this is probably something that you’re going to really enjoy. If that’s something that puts fear in you and scares you, then that’s probably not the journey for you, and that’s okay.
I think all birth is beautiful and sacred. If you’re looking at home birth as an option, do a lot of research about it and watch a lot of home birth videos—that really gave me a lot of confidence. When you meet women who gave birth in their homes, it helps normalize it because it’s not something that we see in our culture, in movies or on T.V. We don’t read about it in a lot of magazines or books, necessarily. So seeing those videos really helped normalize home birth to me in a way that didn’t make it scary.”
I know your relationship with your sister is really special. What has it been like watching her and Jack connect?
“It’s so sweet. She’s obsessed with him in a way I didn’t necessarily see coming. You don’t see your sibling in that light until you actually see it firsthand. It only took a couple of visits, and she was like, ‘I need photos every day. I need Jack content.’
She loves holding him and just being around him. It’s really sweet that they’ll have a special connection, especially once he gets older and he can spend the weekend at his aunt’s house and go on little adventures with her. I just think it’s really unique and special that we’re as close as we are and that Jack gets to experience that as well.”
What piece of your work are you most excited to show him once he’s old enough?
“I feel like this new record just because we really started writing the record around when we conceived him, and we’re just now wrapping up the album, so it’s kind of this before and after snapshot of before, while I was carrying him, and then just a matter of a week after I delivered him, I was back in the studio. So I think that this will probably be the best thing to show him in terms of just where my head space was at and the creativity that was kind of flowing out of us as a band, and all the images that we have and all the video that we’ve taken in the studio with him.
I was even looking back the other day, and it’s crazy how fast he’s grown up, even from that first week that we were back in the studio to now, he’s almost three months, and it’s just gone by so fast, but we’ve documented a lot of it, which is great. So I look forward to showing him a lot of that.”
I know you’ve partnered with Huggies. How has that been helpful during new motherhood?
“Well, it’s funny, I’m so stocked up on Huggies diapers and skin essential wipes and bodysuits I can’t even tell you. It’s just insane. I was a Huggies kid growing up, which was kind of awesome. My mom was just thrilled when I told her about the partnership because she had me running around in Huggies as a kid.
I already had them on my registry. Their diaper bag I’m using at the moment is super durable, and it kind of converts into a backpack or a tote bag, which I love. My husband likes to wear it as a backpack, and I use it as a tote.
The little body suits that they have come out with, the prints are so cute, and it’s all organic cotton, so it’s really soft for skin, so it doesn’t irritate him. The little buttons are really easy to use, and they have double zippers—all essential things that only once you’re a mom do you start to appreciate. Jack has been in his Huggies this whole spring and summer, and he’ll continue to be. He’s a big fan.”
